Something Is Rotten At Penn State

If you want to understand the cult of Joe Paterno's role in allowing a ten-year-old to be raped and his rapist never brought to justice, look at the scenes last night, as students rioted in defense of their demi-God. Winning football games morally trumps allowing a brutal child rapist to avoid criminal charges and go on to rape many more. There is no "due diligence" with respect to protecting kids from rapists. There is simply stopping them, and bringing them to justice immediately.

That the structure of Penn State – and its creepy Paterno worship – allowed this to happen is bad enough. That the student body would rather side with a negligent football coach over a raped child is beyond belief. Here's another photo posted by Rod Dreher that sums it up:

Why is it that cults almost always lead to child abuse? And what does this say about the moral climate at Penn State and the caliber of its students:

Demonstrators tore down two lamp posts, one falling into a crowd. They also threw rocks and fireworks at the police, who responded with pepper spray. The crowd undulated like an accordion, with the students crowding the police and the officers pushing them back. “We got rowdy, and we got maced,” Jeff Heim, 19, said rubbing his red, teary eyes. “But make no mistake, the board started this riot by firing our coach. They tarnished a legend.”

No, they didn't. They held a powerful enabler of child rape to account. Far too late. After far too many victims. What on earth is your problem?